Neither vulnerable, South deals.

Neither vulnerable, South deals.

NORTH

xJ 10 5

uA J 3

v8 6 4

w8 5 3 2

WEST EAST

x6 xQ 9 4 2

uK Q 10 8 u9 7 6 5 4

v7 5 3 2 v10 9

wQ 7 6 4 wJ 10

SOUTH

xA K 8 7 3

u2

vA K Q J

wA K 9

The bidding:

SOUTH WEST NORTH EAST

2w Pass 2v Pass

2x Pass 3x Pass

4w Pass 4u Pass

6x Pass Pass Pass

Opening lead: King of u

Here’s another deal from Eddie Kantar’s award-winning “Thinking Bridge” series for players who want to improve their game.

“After North cue-bids the ace of hearts, South decides to give up on a grand slam as it is tough to discover if partner holds both black queens.

“In spite of the heart cue-bid, West’s powerful heart sequence warrants a heart lead. With a certain club loser, South needs to find East with the queen of spades, so the jack of spades is led at trick two.

“As East in second seat, do not cover the jack! When dummy has two equal honors, cover the second equal, not the first. Notice the difference. If the jack is covered, declarer wins, crosses back to the 10, sees West show out, and leads a low spade to the eight. You take zero spade tricks. If you duck the jack but cover the 10, partner shows out but declarer cannot get back dummy to finesse you out of your 9 4 of spades. Success! You wind up with a club and a spade trick.

“As second hand, when dummy has a number of equal honors, cover the last equal. This is an important defensive principle.”

2009 Tribune Media Services